Since 2003, Julia Robinson’s textile-focused sculpture and installation practice has ruminated on enduring human narratives around sacrifice, sex, and death. Living and working on Kaurna land in Adelaide, South Australia, but drawing on the folkloric and, importantly, folk horror traditions of her British ancestry, Robinson conflates humour and horror in ever more unexpected ways. In this, the first major publication dedicated to Robinson’s practice, curator Leigh Robb, novelist and poet Hannah Kent, and visual artist Jess Taylor examine her work through their respective lenses and weave together the visual art, literature, folklore, and film most influential to Robinson’s practice. The essays and poems contained within are accompanied by reproductions of key works in stunning detail which reveal the artist’s keen understanding of historical costuming and sewing techniques. This monograph surveys over twenty years of a prolific and wildly imaginative visual art practice, that combines exceptional technical skill, fantastical invention and thoroughly researched cultural touchstones.
